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TRENDING:

The fall

Republican leaders in the upper chamber could have done without Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) giving them a month’s notice. His resignation, effective Sept. 30, means lawmakers returning to work on Tuesday can expect excruciating encounters as the news media chase Craig around the Capitol.

Schumer would much rather have campaigned in a deep red state against an incumbent tainted by lewd soliciting in a men’s room than against a one-year stand-in likely to retain most of Idaho’s majority conservatives. The horrific electoral prospect for the GOP of defending 22 seats with a slate of candidates including a toilet toe-tapper underscored Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) move to cut Craig loose so swiftly.

Even without the Craig factor, Tuesday ushers in the most turbulent three or four months of this legislative and electoral cycle.

There is a huge legislative agenda, headed by appropriations bills and Iraq, which means Congress will probably be in session nearly until Christmas. The pressure to stay will be particularly acute because the presidential election will hog all the political oxygen after New Year’s.

Ironically, however, the primary season will be almost over by then. With the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary in the first half of January, and with states containing more than half the nation’s population making their pick by Feb. 5, the real campaign season is now. There will be a six-month lull in public attention between Feb. 5 and next summer’s conventions.

It has always been difficult for senators to win the White House. This cycle, senators are well placed to do so. But high-profile legislative issues and an unusually competitive electoral race will ensure that the nominees will have shown their mettle.